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Jack Layton tribute at Toronto City Hall blends the personal with the political

By Laura StoneStaff Reporter

Wed., Aug. 22, 2012

Maheroon Mawji felt like she knew Jack Layton. He had danced with her once in 2005, at the Pakistani Community Centre on Gerrard St. E., and she remembers the night. She even has a photo of them together, screened and printed on her white shirt.

“He was so down-to-earth,” said the 72-year-old. “He was a wonderful guy.”

MP Olivia Chow writes on a wall at Nathan Phillips Square on the first anniversary of her husband Jack Layton's death. “There’s a great yearning from people. It’s not just about Jack,” said Chow. (Pawel Dwulit / Toronto Star)

Pascale Padilla, 10, was one of hudreds who came to Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto on the first anniversary of Jack Layton's death from cancer. (Pawel Dwulit / Toronto Star)

She felt like she knew him, and that’s why she was here, at Nathan Phillips Square, on the anniversary of his death — scrawling chalk messages to the man who had an uncanny ability to make politics personal.

“You r in our hearts, thoughts and prayers,” she wrote, using a drawing to represent the heart, careful not to take up too much space.

It was part of a tribute celebration called Dear Jack, which included an evening concert, marking a year since Layton’s death from cancer after he led the NDP to official Opposition for the first time.

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On the curved wall outside City Hall, dozens of messages were dedicated to a politician many knew from afar or not at all: You left us too soon. Young people care. Long live Layton’s moustache.

The messages mimicked the spontaneous outpouring of public grief that happened last year when Layton died. For many, the connection clearly remains.

“Jack really touched my heart,” said Darlene Lucas, a mental health worker from Parkdale. “He cared for the average Joe.”

Quotations from his final letter to Canadians — ending with a call to hope, love and optimism — were everywhere, branded on T-shirts and in literature, marked on walls and the ground.

“There’s a great yearning from people. It’s not just about Jack,” said Layton’s widow, NDP MP Olivia Chow.

“It’s the message that we can be a more loving society.”

Layton’s family and friends spent the morning at Toronto’s Necropolis Cemetery, where his ashes were interred.

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“This morning was tough. It was pretty emotional,” said Mike Layton, following in his father’s early political footsteps as a city councillor.

“At the same time, you come here and look at the messages of love, hope and optimism and it makes you feel good and it makes you feel hopeful about what tomorrow brings.”

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Stephen Harper took time out from his northern tour to reflect on Layton’s death.

“I’ll just take the opportunity to express my condolences once again to Olivia, all of Jack’s family and friends. I know this is a difficult time for them,” Harper said during a stop in Norman Wells, N.W.T.

And on Parliament Hill, New Democrats and their supporters gathered to pay tribute to a man who was a consummate politician.

“For Jack, there wasn’t much of a difference. Community was politics for Jack,” Robin MacLachlan, a former NDP staffer turned lobbyist, told a crowd gathered in the Ottawa sunshine.

As for the night’s event, “Jack would have loved it,” said Chow.

“Loved the music and loved the people and (then) say, OK, stop mourning and go out and make a difference.”

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